Once we have accepted the reality of our broken life in this broken world and have discontinued trying to make it into something it will never be, we can then be about the business of allowing the Father to form us into a vessel fit for His use.
We begin to feel hopeful that now we have turned our back on 'worldly' things we can make progress in our spiritual endeavors. If we have not already, we begin to press in to the life of 'church' - joining ministries, attending classes, maybe even starting a ministry of our own.
All appears well at first. We begin to have a certain level of influence in the body of Christ and are seen as a faithful, committed one that can be looked to as an example of what the church should be.
Sooner, or even years later, the hamster wheel of activity and the plate juggling begin to take its toll.
Possibly the community we are involved in seems to have a revolving door where members are present for a while but then go on their way, never seeming to exhibit the same level of commitment that we are laying forth. Or maybe it is a ministry where there are many committed but the constant in fighting and vying for preeminence has left you drained and feeling like you're the only one wanting to follow the Lord.
Welcome to the newest phase of the journey.
Trying to make a life by walking according to the traditions of religion will present a whole new type of wilderness to navigate.
As we meditate on the state we are in, we begin to see the reality that the people IN the church are the same as those OUTSIDE the church. Covetousness, envy, murder (backbiting), adultery (both with the heart and physically), discontent, depression, unbridled anger, theft, disrespect and on and on, are realities in the institutional expression of the body of Christ. We have left, or so we believe, the worldly pull of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life only to be confronted with it among the Body. And not just in 'them', we see it in our self!
How can this be? We desire the good thing - a life set apart for the Master's use;, a life of fellowship with other like minded believers yet we find the same fleshly desires motivating us (and many of those around us) even though we have joined ourselves in a committed way to the Body.
The realization begins to dawn:
there is something more to our life than what the world presents,
but also
there is something more to grabbing hold of life than even what our physical church membership (even if that involves taking a role of leadership) has to offer.
